News
Shelter money fading, but ‘not at the end of the line’
By CHRIS LISINSKI
BOSTON — State dollars for the emergency family shelter system are dwindling, and restaurateurs who for years enjoyed expanded outdoor dining and the ability to sell drinks to go remain “in limbo” amid a sustained period of legislative...
A Look Back: April 19
By JIM BRIDGMAN
50 Years Ago■A city budget of $11,687,698 for the fiscal year July 1, 1974, through June 30, 1975, some $400,000 over last year’s 12-month expenditure, was passed unanimously at last night’s City Council meeting. At some point between now and June the...
Sinkhole closes Eastman Lane in Amherst
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — A section of Eastman Lane, from the traffic signal at East Pleasant Street to just east of the entrance to Sylvan Lot 44, is closed after a leaking drainage culvert caused a sinkhole in the road Wednesday.Jersey barriers are set up and...
AT&T’s proposed cell tower extension moving forward in South Deerfield
By CHRIS LARABEE
SOUTH DEERFIELD — AT&T’s plans to extend the cell tower behind the South Deerfield Fire District can proceed following recent approval from the Deerfield Zoning Board of Appeals.The project previously received approval from the Planning Board to raise...
Around Amherst: Sustainability Festival camping out on Common Saturday
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Family fun, education and entertainment are expected to be part of the Amherst Sustainability Festival, being held for the 12th time on the Town Common on Saturday.Running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the festival will have a number of vendors,...
Intermittent rail trail closures expected in Amherst, Belchertown
STAFF REPORT
AMHERST — Intermittent closures of the Norwottuck Rail Trail from Station Road in Amherst to Warren Wright Road in Belchertown are beginning Friday and will run through June 5.The periodic closures, which will necessitate detours, were announced by...
Fearful Belchertown residents blame stray bullets on nearby gun club, appeal to town for help
By EMILEE KLEIN
BELCHERTOWN — Jake Hulseberg won’t let his children play on the swing set he built them in their backyard on Mountain View Drive because of bullets that shattered glass doors on two houses on the street.Instead, Hulseberg keeps his kids in the front...
State: South Hadley’s fiber-optic revenues not public records
By EMILEE KLEIN
SOUTH HADLEY — The Secretary of the Commonwealth has upheld South Hadley Electric Light Department’s policy of restricting public information on the fiber-optic network Fiberspring after ruling on an appeal of a public records request for Fiberspring...
New federal mandate requires informed consent for sensitive exams
By XINYI YANG
BOSTON — Massachusetts teaching hospitals and medical institutions must obtain written informed consent before any sensitive and intimate examination, including breast, rectal, prostate, and pelvic exams, as a result of a federal decision effective...
Photos: Flowers for grandma
Man granted parole for his role in the 2001 stabbing deaths of 2 Dartmouth College professors
By KATHY McCORMACK
A man who has served more than half of his life in prison for his role in the 2001 stabbing deaths of two married Dartmouth College professors as part of a plan to rob and kill people before fleeing overseas was granted parole Thursday.James Parker...
Developer lands $400K loan for affordable housing project in Easthampton mill district
By SCOTT MERZBACH
EASTHAMPTON — A Springfield nonprofit developer planning to construct One Industrial Lofts, a 96-unit affordable housing development at the former Hampton textile mill at 11-15 Ferry St., is receiving a $400,000 loan from a public-private community...
Area Briefs: Northampton kicks off Earth Day celebrations
NORTHAMPTON — The city will kick off Earth Day celebrations with a ceremonial tree planting on Saturday, with 12 trees planted by volunteers to replace ash trees on Ice Pond Drive damaged by the invasive Emerald Ash Borer, a wood-boring pest that...
Hadley planners advance battery storage bylaw
By SCOTT MERZBACH
HADLEY — A bylaw that would allow standalone energy storage systems in most zoning districts in Hadley, but which would prohibit them in the aquifer protection areas, is being brought to annual Town Meeting next month, with an endorsement from the...
Gun buyback event collects 195 unwanted firearms
STAFF REPORT
The two-county gun buyback event held by the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office on April 13 collected 195 unwanted firearms, one of which was an antique that was subsequently donated to The Springfield Armory.The event was held at the Greenfield...
Quabbin region studied for MWRA expansion
By SAM DRYSDALE
As House Democrats eye the expansion of its public drinking water service area, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) is considering whether the communities where that water comes from should finally get to reap the benefits of the...
A Look Back: April 18
50 Years Ago■Robert F. Ulm, Easthampton’s fire chief since 1944, last night submitted his resignation to the Board of Selectmen, to become effective April 20. Ulm said he would become fire chief in the town of Bedford.■The Northampton City Council...
Amherst Fire Chief Walter ‘Tim’ Nelson to retire in June
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Fire Chief Walter O. “Tim” Nelson, who has led the department since early 2010, will retire from the position at the end of June, bringing to a close a more than 43-year career in fire services in which his emphasis has been on helping...
First look at how little Amherst’s police alternative being used called troubling
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — The tiny number of emergency dispatch calls directed to the Community Responders for Equity, Safety and Service since mid-December, when the department began taking 911 calls, is prompting worries by members of the Community Safety and...
Petition to block auto dealership on King Street falters in Northampton
By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL
NORTHAMPTON — A joint meeting between the Northampton City Council’s Committee on Legislative Matters and the city’s Planning Board heard public comments on a petition to ban further automobile dealerships near the city’s downtown, an issue that...
